A Trip to the Farmer's Market

So today's post will be a little special. Rather than to talk about a topic I heard about online or in the news, I'm going to share about something local. I decided to take a break from studying today to venture out into the Wild Wild...North?

Haha. I made a trip to Kranji Countryside today to explore the Farmer's Market event:

The event was organised by the Kranji Countryside Association, which comprises of local vegetable and animal farms, horticulturists and entrepreneurs. The Farmer's Market brought together these firms at Gardenasia to showcase and sell their produce.

There were hydroponics and organic produce and all the vegetables on sale were locally grown on farms in the Kranji area. I also saw fish, eggs and goat's milk.

Hydroponics 

Fish from our local farms 

There were also several entrepreneurs selling mini "gardens" and "kits" that visitors could bring back home to plant.

Many of the booths also sold food items that were "homemade", some from the ingredients that were grown on our local farms.  There were...

bread, cakes and other baked products,

drinks, be it tea, fruit and vegetable mixes, alcoholic beverages, 

condiments and snacks,

and many, many more, including complete meals with barbecued meat and sides to go along. 

The event also showcased art&craft items from local entrepreneurs,

Local clay figurines

and other firms as well as NGOs set up booths to educate the public about an array of issues, including food waste in Singapore (The Food Bank Singapore Ltd) and animal rights (ACRES).

This was an interesting concept about urban food gardens

Lastly, there were hands-on activities for children to learn more about gardening, local art&craft and the Kranji Countryside. 

Kid's activity area

A facilitator teaching two boys how to pot a plant

So the event was meant partly to show Singaporeans that we can consume locally and support local farmers. Eating locally grown produce means that our food doesn't consume additional energy to ship or fly the food to our supermarkets, lowering the carbon footprint of the product and therefore, ours. 

I found it interesting to see different local entrepreneurs gather in one place and see what our local farms and farmers have to offer. The event was successful, in my opinion, in exposing Singaporeans who have little understanding of the local farming scene to the possible options in consuming locally. It was an enriching experience, definitely and I even bought a book on basic gardening in Singapore and sharing local entrepreneurs' stories, which came with free (?) organic soil (haha):

In retrospect, however, I don't think the event was entirely successful in spurring long-term behavioural change in Singaporeans to eat local. Rather than being a frequent event, as with Farmer's Markets in other parts of the world, the event is held on a quarter-yearly basis, which suggests that most visitors were here for the vibe rather than to really "go green". At the event, I observed many visitors to be more interested in the food and novelty of the event and questioned how many of them were really here to learn more about the local farming scene. It was a pity because there were many local farmers and entrepreneurs who had interesting ideas pertaining to sustainable farming in Singapore but many people seemed to be more interested in eating and sampling the food. 

I think many Singaporeans viewed the event as a "getaway" from their normal routine rather than as a lifestyle habit. While that's not a bad thing, it doesn't necessarily translate the event into longer-term sustainability and behavioural change in Singaporeans. For one, Kranji Countryside is not easily accessible by public transport so it is unlikely for many of us to go back to buy our produce on a regular basis and the event was limited in showing Singaporeans where they could find their local farmer's produce elsewhere. 

Nonetheless, kudos to the Kranji Countryside Association and team for organising an eye-opening event and pave the way for Singaporeans to rethink their eating habits and increase awareness for local farmers. Looking forward, I believe there is much potential for more of such events and to expand the local agriculture and produce scene. I do wish to see events that are targeted at longer-term change rather than a "one-off" flagship event. 

That's all Folks!